In the first two rounds of the Champions League, the Jadran water polo team challenged the favorites of Group C, narrowly missing a win against Ferencvaros in Budapest and facing a tough match against their namesake from Split in Trebinje. This set the stage for them to enter tonight’s match against Crvena Zvezda as favorites.

However, achieving two of the three points was a dramatic affair—making a remarkable comeback from a three-goal deficit in the final quarter, the Novljan team triumphed with a score of 21:20 (2:1, 0:2, 3:3, 3:2, 13:12).

Under coach Petar Radanović, the team led only twice in the first quarter with goals from Dmitri Holod and Martin Gardašević, but the “red and white” turned the tide by halftime to lead 3:2.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Bojan Banićević broke a nearly nine-minute scoring dry spell for his team, marking the last time they tied the game.

With goals from Ivan Basara and former Jadran player Gavrilo Subotić, the Belgraders surged ahead 5:3, and early in the final quarter, when Dušan Vasić and Lukas Seman extended the lead to 8:5, victory seemed near.

Gardašević netted his fourth goal, followed by Ivan Nagajev reducing the lead to 58:8 with just over a minute left, reigniting Jadran’s hopes. Unfortunately for the Belgrade team, Danilo Radović capitalized on an extra player to equalize 70 seconds before the final whistle.

After Vasilij Radović received a foul, Zvezda had a chance to reclaim the lead, but Nagajev blocked Subotić’s shot successfully.

The Russian water polo player attempted a foul shot from six meters, but Vladimir Mišović made his 15th save, leaving Zvezda with just seven seconds for their final attack.

Aleksandar Filipović called a time-out, Vasić found the net, but the referees ruled an offensive foul in the play.

Ultimately, the outcome was decided by Darko Đurović, who stopped Subotić’s shot in the 14th series. Novljan’s goalkeeper had previously blocked Basara’s attempt in the first series, but Mišović extended the suspense by saving Lazar Vukićević’s shot in the fourth series. Following that, 21 shots were taken before Đurović concluded the tense match.

The match was intense, filled with rhythm and unexpected turns. Zvezda’s physical dominance was evident, explaining their long-held lead against Jadran in Split. With strong centers—possibly Europe’s best pair—we faced considerable challenges to narrow the gap. I’m pleased we found the strength to pull off a draw, which seemed the most realistic outcome; five-pointers are often a gamble. We remained calm, had a more focused goalkeeper, and secured two points,” expressed Radanović.

“Congratulations to Jadran, and to my players as well. We played a stellar match through three quarters, but lost control towards the end. Luck was not on our side,” stated his counterpart Filipović.

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